Loss of Equilibrium
by InvisibleBallerina
Summary: After The Thunderbird Connection, Colonel Steve Austin has surgery to remove scar tissue and restore his equilibrium. But when Jaime Sommers arrives at the lab, Steve's emotional equilibrium takes a spin.
1. Checking In

Steve Austin walked into the huge OSI complex. It was all very familiar to him with its bare white walls, linoleum-tiled floors, utilitarian furnishings, and medical and scientific equipment. There was nothing homey or inviting about the sprawling complex and yet it felt almost like a second home to Steve. He had spent so much time here over the last three years.

Being the human prototype for bionics hadn't been easy.

After he had healed from being made bionic and struggled to learn how to use his new limbs, the bugs had to be worked out. Every time a limb twitched or trembled, he had trouble maintaining his balance, couldn't focus his eye, had a power surge, struggled with fine motor skills, or couldn't control the amount of force he was applying with his hand, he had to be adjusted. It had been a constant and exhausting cycle of testing and fine-tuning his bionics.

Even after the initial adjustment period, there was the regular testing and maintenance, as well as the repairs when his bionic parts malfunctioned or were damaged. His human half was also very carefully monitored to keep him in optimal health. And then there were the quarterly psych evaluations he had to submit to where he was hooked up to a machine that measured his brain's Alpha waves and required to answer the most personal of questions.

No, it wasn't easy being the first cyborg. Steve himself once confessed that being an experiment wasn't much fun, even if it was successful.

And yet Steve had adapted and thrived.

Some might say that his background as a test pilot in the Air Force and then as an astronaut with the space program had prepared him in some ways to become a bionic man. He had passed with flying colors the very intensive medical and psychological testing that NASA puts its astronaut candidates through. And after he was chosen by NASA, he had undergone two years of rigorous training to become fully qualified as an astronaut.

But even with his background, Steve almost didn't make it. At one point early in the year-plus-long process to rebuild him, he had tried to take his own life. He would have succeeded if his nurse hadn't walked in on him and stopped him. After that, Dr. Wells took no chances and Steve was constantly monitored.

Steve then retreated into himself, refusing to utter a word to anyone. For months he endured almost weekly operations. Endured the numbing monotony of staring at the ceiling of his hospital room during those periods when he wasn't under the stupor of drugs or the electrosleep machine. Some operations fixed the damage to his body caused by the crash of the lifting body. Other operations were to prepare his body for the bionic prosthetics to come.

It took four months before Steve would talk to anyone. That day came when he finally accepted that he was going to live.

Oh, there were occasional setbacks from time to time where he would lash out in anger or retreat into depression or self-pity but, gradually, he came to accept being part man and part machine. He even admitted once that he would do his experiment over again.

Now, he was here at Rudy's lab again…this time checking in for minor surgery to remove scar tissue from one of his numerous earlier surgeries.

When Steve returned from rescuing Prince Hassad of Berdhabi, Oscar Goldman wasted no time scheduling the surgery for the next day. Oscar needed his bionic man fully functional.

Steve and the Prince had barely escaped with their lives. To get rid of an on-board bomb, Steve had executed a stunt called the Throw Away that pulled enough negative g's to safely release the canopy and allow him to throw the bomb out of the jet. The maneuver triggered Steve's vertigo and if it wasn't for Jan Lawrence talking him down, Steve wouldn't have been able to safely land the jet.

Steve's vertigo was so bad he couldn't even jump without getting dizzy.

"Good morning, Colonel Austin."

"Good morning, Vicky," Steve replied. "And it's Steve."

She ignored his request. "Your room is ready for you, Colonel Austin, and I've placed a hospital gown on your bed. You know the routine…everything off." Vicky, Rudy's new head nurse, was all business.

"Yeah," Steve replied unenthusiastically. He knew the routine all too well. While he was looking forward to being able to fly and jump again, he wasn't looking forward to this surgery, even if it was a minor operation. As many times as he'd gone under the knife, it was something he could never get used to.

Steve walked toward the hospital wing of the complex, which was an intelligence hospital that served members of the intelligence community. His room was the third door on the left. He paused in front of his door and looked thoughtfully at a door further down the corridor on the right.

Jaime Sommer's room.

He had a strong urge to walk over, knock on the door and say hello, but he knew there would be no answer. Jaime was in Ojai.

He reluctantly pushed the door open to his room. A hospital gown lay on the bed. Steve wasted no time undressing and putting on the hospital gown. After putting his clothes away in the closet and dresser, he opened up a small bag that he had brought with him and started unpacking. He didn't need to bring much since he always kept some clothes and toiletries here in his room at the hospital. After he finished unpacking, he stretched his six-foot frame out on the bed.

He didn't have to wait long. Vicky came in a couple of minutes later carrying some medical supplies. She hung an IV bag filled with clear liquid on a tall stand near the bed.

"How are you feeling today, Colonel Austin?"

"Fine. How are you?"

"I'm well. Any dizziness?" she asked as she grabbed his left wrist and felt his pulse.

"Not right now."

"Good, pulse is strong. When did you last eat?"

"I had dinner at seven."

"Nothing since then?"

"No."

"Good. Open up," she ordered as she placed a thermometer under his tongue. She efficiently wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his left upper arm, inflated it, and let it deflate. "Hmm…a little high."

She removed the thermometer. "Temperature normal."

Vicky then tied a tourniquet above Steve's left elbow and swabbed his inner arm with alcohol. "You're going to feel a bit of a pinch."

Steve winced as she expertly slid an IV catheter into his vein and then taped it down.

After attaching the saline bag, Vicky turned her attention to filling out Steve's medical chart.

Doctor Rudy Wells walked in a couple of minutes later. "Good morning, Steve!" he said cheerfully. "Are you ready to do this?"

"Hey, Rudy, ready as I'll ever be." Steve managed to sound relaxed even if he didn't feel it. His years as a pilot had taught him that. He had learned how to show a cool exterior even when his stomach felt like a bag of bricks.

But Steve's elevated blood pressure gave him away today and didn't go unnoticed by Rudy as he looked over Steve's medical chart. Rudy patted Steve on the shoulder. "Now there's nothing to worry about, Steve. This is minor surgery. We're just going to go in there and get rid of the lesion just below the cochlea of your left ear, which is affecting your equilibrium and causing the dizzy spells. In about ten days you'll be able fly and jump with no problems.

"Whatever you say, Doc. Hey, do you think I might be able to get out of here a few days early? I told Jan Lawrence that I'd try to make it to her graduation next week."

Rudy thought for a moment. "Well, let's play it by ear and see how you feel in a week."


	2. Post Op

Steve slowly came to consciousness. It took him a several seconds to focus his eyes but when he did, he saw Rudy and Oscar standing over him.

"Hey, Pal, welcome back," Oscar warmly greeted him.

Steve gave him a weak smile.

"How are you doing?" Rudy asked as he felt the pulse of Steve's left wrist.

"Y—you tell me," Steve whispered hoarsely. His throat was sore from the tube inserted into his trachea during surgery.

"The surgery went well. We successfully removed all the old scar tissue. Your vitals are good," Rudy responded confidently. "You'll be back up on your feet in no time."

"Yeah, pretty soon you'll be able to pull all the negative g's you want, Pal," Oscar added.

"W—wanna go for a r—ride with me, Oscar? I pro—promise your stomach will be up in your thro—throat." Steve winked at him.

Oscar laughed. "I think I'll pass on that ride. I like my stomach where it is."

Rudy pulled up Steve's eyelids and checked both of his pupils. Rudy was pleased that Steve's bionic eye was reacting to his brain impulses exactly the same as his real eye. There was no difference in pupil size. "Any dizziness, blurry vision, or pain?"

"No." Steve shook his head. "Uh..."

Steve's hand shot to the side of his neck and he gingerly felt the large bandage under his left ear. "Sp—spoke too soon. Moving my head…not a good idea."

"I'll have Vicky bring you some medication for the pain."

Rudy noticed Steve's eyelids starting to get heavy. "We're going to let you get some rest now. I'll check on you tonight."

"Okay."

"Take care, Pal." Oscar patted Steve's leg and walked out of the room with Rudy.

Steve didn't try to fight the drowsiness coming over him. He shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A few hours later the call light went off at the nurse's station. Vicky noticed that it was coming from Steve's room.

Steve was moaning and hyperventilating. His eyes were tightly shut and he was pinching the bridge of his nose. His right hand was bending the steel bed railing out of shape.

Vicky ran to his side. "Colonel Austin, what's wrong?"

"Dizzy…room spinning around…bad," was all he could manage to get out.


	3. Side Effect

Rudy took Steve's left arm and felt his pulse. It was elevated. He noticed the deformed bed railing that Steve was unconsciously bending with his right hand.

"Steve, can you open your eyes for me?"

Steve groaned but managed to get his eyes open.

"What do you see, Steve?"

"Everything's…blurry. Room's spinning around."

Rudy turned to Vicky. "Sparine, 50 milligrams. Quickly!"

Vicky immediately left.

"Hang in there, Steve," Rudy said soothingly as he swabbed a small area on Steve's upper left arm with alcohol.

Steve groaned.

"C'mon, I need you to hold on for just a little while longer."

Steve held his stomach. "I think I'm going to be si—" He leaned over the bed railing and started dry heaving.

Rudy grimaced.

Vicky was back within a minute with a hypodermic needle.

"Lay back, Steve," Rudy ordered as he pushed Steve onto his back, grabbed his left arm and quickly pushed the needle into his arm and pushed the plunger. The Sparine went into Steve's system and within seconds his breathing evened out, his body visibly relaxed, and he fell into unconsciousness.

Rudy let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

"What happened?" Oscar looked down at an unconscious Steve. "I thought you said this was minor surgery."

"Yes, it is a minor procedure but the recovery can sometimes be difficult," Rudy explained. "You see, swelling is a normal side effect of surgery. But because of the location of this particular surgery, the swelling is pushing up against the cochlea and causing severe vertigo. It's like what he was experiencing when he was pulling negative g's, only much worse. This doesn't let up after a few minutes. It's constant."

"How long before the swelling is gone?"

"About a week or so. In the meantime, I've hooked him up to the electro-sleep machine."

"That's the machine you used when you made him bionic," Oscar noted.

"Yes. The best thing for him is to keep him unconscious until the swelling goes down. And the electro-sleep machine is the best solution for longer-term needs. It doesn't have the side effects that sedatives have."

Oscar sighed. "Okay, well, keep me apprised of his condition. I want daily reports."


	4. Jaime Arrives

Jaime Sommers strolled toward the hospital wing of the OSI facility. It was time for her quarterly physical – a full week of testing and maintenance of her bionics. She headed for her room with a small suitcase in hand. Like Steve, she didn't need to bring much since she always kept exercise clothes, pajamas, a robe, and a few basic personal care products here in her room at the lab.

Jaime turned the corner and stopped in her tracks when she saw the guard posted outside of Steve's room. Her heart skipped a beat. The only time they had guards assigned to protect them was when they were incapacitated. Was Steve sick? Was he injured?

She listened for sounds coming from Steve's room and heard a heartbeat and steady breathing.

"Excuse me," she asked as she walked up to the guard. "Is Steve Austin in there?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, this area is restricted," answered the guard. "You'll need Oscar…"

"…Oscar Goldman's or Rudy Wells' permission to enter," she finished for him.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, do know where Rudy Wells is?"

"You might try his office, ma'am."

"Thank you."

Jaime headed for her room and placed her suitcase on the bed. Normally, she would unpack first and get settled in her room but she was too worried about Steve. She left the suitcase and started straight for Rudy's office.

* * *

Rudy Wells was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork. He smiled widely when Jaime walked through the door.

"Jaime, good to see you!" He got up and gave her a hug. "How's my favorite bionic woman?"

"Well, unless there is something you've been keeping from me, Rudy, I'm your only bionic woman."

Rudy laughed. "I've got some paperwork to finish up here but why don't you get settled and then grab some lunch in the cafeteria. We'll start bionic testing this afternoon."

Jaime came straight to the point. "Rudy, what's wrong with Steve?"

Rudy couldn't help but notice the concerned look on Jaime's face. "He's recovering from surgery."

"What?"

"Now don't worry," he assured her. "It was minor surgery…just had to remove a lesion near his ear that was giving him some problems. He'll be fine."

"I want to see him," she demanded.

Rudy sighed. "He's asleep. He won't even know you're there."

"I still want to see him."

Rudy knew he wouldn't be able to win this argument. "Okay, I'll take you to him."

* * *

Outside of Steve's room Rudy stopped to speak to the guard. "Carter, Ms. Sommers here gets unlimited access to Colonel Austin's room."

"Yes, sir."

Rudy turned to Jaime. "Happy?"

Jaime smiled. "Thank you."

They entered the quiet room and Jaime's breath caught when she saw Steve. His naked frame was covered by a sheet up to the middle of his torso. He was lying very still. Only his broad chest moved up and down with each breath, assisted by oxygen flowing into a nasal cannula in his nostrils. An IV bag was dripping fluid into his left arm and electrodes with wires leading to the electro-sleep machine were attached to his forehead. A large bandage covered his neck below his left ear and a half-filled urinary drainage bag hung low on the side of the bed.

Jaime crossed the room to the bed and took Steve's hand. "Steve? Steve? It's me, Jaime. Steve?"

"He's in electro-sleep, Jaime. He can't hear you."

"Electro-sleep? I thought you said this was minor surgery."

"It is minor surgery. But because of its location near the inner ear, recovery can often be challenging. In Steve's case, normal post-surgical swelling brought on severe vertigo. He was in a great deal of distress so I'm keeping him asleep until the swelling goes down."

Jaime frowned. "How long has he been out?"

"Three days. I'm going to wake him up this evening to assess if there is any improvement in his condition."

"Rudy, if you don't mind, I'd like to sit with him awhile."

"That's fine. But don't forget that your bionic testing starts at 1 p.m. Be sure to get some lunch into you. I don't want you fainting from hunger on me." Rudy smiled and left the room.

Jaime sat on the bed next to this man she had shared so much with... childhood friendship, high school sweethearts, his parents, bionics, an engagement and, even though she couldn't remember the feelings, being in love. She placed her hand on his chest and felt his heartbeat. It was strong and steady. Bending over, she kissed him gently on the lips.


	5. The Endurance Test

Jaime was glad that Rudy had insisted she eat lunch. This afternoon he had her running around and around a huge five-mile track located in a remote area of the lab's grounds. The grounds around the complex were vast. It was the perfect location to do bionic testing – secluded and no chance of any prying eyes watching.

Rudy had decided to do the endurance test first. From inside a large cargo truck, Rudy monitored the readouts from an array of equipment.

Jaime was running at 60 miles per hour for 30 miles. This was no leisurely run. This was 30 minutes of full out running. Keeping up that speed for that distance required enormous concentration. She didn't have a speedometer with her but she knew what 60 miles per hour felt like. The challenge was to keep her speed steady. Any variance of more or less than a few miles per hour in her speed and Rudy would make her start over.

This was her fourth try.

Her days as a tennis pro had taught her a lot about concentration and she usually had little problem completing this test; but today her heart wasn't in it. She was worried about Steve and wanted to be with him, not out here on a hot dusty track.

"Okay, concentrate, concentrate," she told herself as she tried to force her brain to think about nothing but the pace. She was determined to get through this test. One more lap around the track and it would be over.

Jaime finished the course and ran back to the truck. "How was that?"

"You lost too much speed the last three miles."

Jaime hit the side of the truck in frustration.

Rudy looked at her sternly. "Jaime, you need to keep your mind on your work. Now go do it again."

"Oh, come on, Rudy!"

"Again!" Rudy ordered.

"Slave driver!" she yelled back as she took off toward the track.

Rudy chuckled.

The endurance test was invaluable. It not only helped Jaime build her physical endurance but it also helped Rudy test the limits of the bionic machinery. Jaime's legs had to be able to hold up to high-stress situations and not break down or overheat during a long, high-speed run. This afternoon her legs were really getting a workout.

It took Jaime two more tries before she got it right. By the end of the afternoon she was spent. When she got back to her room, she took a shower and then fell into bed exhausted. She was soon fast asleep.

* * *

Rudy came by her room later that evening and roused her. "Jaime? Jaime?"

"Hmm?" she replied sleepily.

"I'm going to wake Steve up now. Do you want to say hello to him?"

Jaime was instantly awake.


	6. The First Evaluation

Rudy turned off the electro-sleep machine.

"Help me turn him on his side, Vicky," Rudy requested. The two rolled Steve away from them. Rudy then pulled down the sheet partially revealing Steve's bare buttocks.

Jaime's eyes went wide and she blushed.

Rudy swabbed Steve's left buttock with alcohol. Vicky then handed Rudy a hypodermic needle and he gave Steve an injection in the cleansed area. Rudy pulled the sheet back up and Vicky helped him turn Steve on his back.

"It'll take about 20 minutes before he comes out of it," Rudy explained. "Jaime, I'd appreciate it if you could stand out of his line of sight. I want to assess his condition first. I don't want him distracted by your presence. Once I've determined his condition, then you can say hello to him."

"Umm…of course," Jaime stammered as she moved back against the wall.

Twenty minutes later a quiet moan escaped Steve's lips and his eyelids began to flutter.

"He's coming out of it," declared Rudy. "Steve? Steve? It's Rudy."

"Rudy?" Steve mumbled.

"Do you know where you are?"

Steve opened his eyes and looked at Rudy. It took him a few seconds to find the answer. "Hospital?"

"That's right."

"How long have I been out?" Steve asked slowly.

"Three days," replied Rudy as he shined a light at Steve's eyes. "How's your vision?"

"Blurry…but not as bad as before."

"Any dizziness?"

"Not much."

"Okay, I want you to follow my finger by turning your head, not just your eyes."

Rudy raised his index finger in front of Steve's face and moved it slowly to the right.

Steve felt a slight twinge of pain from the incision on his neck as he turned his head to follow Rudy's finger.

"That's good. Keep up with my finger. Now let's go the other direction." Rudy moved his finger slowly to the left.

Steve slowly turned his head to the left. "Uh…" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is the dizziness worse?" Rudy asked.

"Yeah," Steve admitted.

"Okay, I can definitely see some improvement but that swelling needs to come down even more. I'm going to put you back to sleep for a couple of more days and then I'll reassess your condition," Rudy explained. "But first there's someone here who wants to say hello." Rudy motioned to Jaime.

She stepped forward. "Steve?"

"Jaime?" Steve struggled to focus his eyes but all he saw was a blurry outline of Jaime.

Jaime came closer and took Steve's hand and gently caressed his cheek with her other hand. "I'm here."

Her soft touch almost made Steve forget about the vertigo. Almost. He tried to focus his eyes but Jaime was still blurry.

Jaime noticed his struggle. She sat on the bed beside him and moved even closer…her face just inches from his. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"You're here?" He squeezed her hand gently and looked into her eyes. "I'm glad."

She smiled. "Me too."

Steve shut his eyes for a moment. "Rudy, I want to stay awake." He was digging deep to fight the dizzy spell that momentarily overtook him.

Jaime looked at Rudy who shook his head. Rudy was afraid this might happen when Steve saw Jaime. He knew how Steve felt about her. But he didn't have to say anything to Steve. Jaime handled the situation.

"You're my hero, Steve, but you need to be a patient right now. Okay?" Jaime continued to run her fingers through Steve's hair.

Steve started to pull an electrode off of his forehead. "No, I want to stay awake."

Jaime took his hand and stopped him. "Don't fight this. You need to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

A pause and then, "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

Jaime gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Steve placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer to him as he deepened the kiss.

Their lips parted and Steve smiled before squeezing his eyes tightly as another wave of vertigo hit him – but that kiss was worth it. "Okay, I'm ready," he whispered.

Jaime gave a nod to Rudy who turned on the electro-sleep machine.

Steve's grasp on Jaime's hand slipped and he fell into unconsciousness.


	7. Jaime Reminisces

Jaime was relaxing in Steve's room the next day. She had a few hours to kill until the next bionic test with Rudy. She sat in a chair next to Steve's bed and watched him sleep…watched the steady movement of his chest. He looked so peaceful.

She thought back to when she first woke up a year and a half ago. It had been a frightening time in her life…to suddenly exist with no memory of the past. She had desperately needed something or someone to cling to and that someone had been Dr. Michael Marchetti, the doctor who had brought her back to life through the use of his groundbreaking cryogenic therapy. Jaime had fond memories of Michael. He was kind, intelligent, and cute in a nerdy sort of way. And while their relationship never developed into anything serious, they kept in touch and were still friends, although she sensed that he would have liked their relationship to have gone further.

But Jaime had to wonder what the heck she been thinking back then. She had developed a crush on Michael while putting Steve in the friend zone? She had to laugh at herself. She certainly had more in common with Steve than with Michael. They were both bionic and both loved sports. Steve was also patient, self-sacrificing, and definitely cuter than Michael. She remembered poor Steve listening patiently to her go on and on about Michael this and Michael that. It must have been so hard for him to have to listen to that.

She remembered the day four months later when Jim and Helen broke the news to her about her engagement to Steve. She was shocked when she found out. Tiny fleeting memories she had been having about Steve then started to make sense. And while the operation to restore her memory had brought back a great deal of her memory, her memories about her engagement to Steve were mostly gone.

Jaime would never forget the look on Steve's face when she told him that she couldn't remember what it was like to be in love with him. He had told her that he understood and had tried to put on a brave face, but she could see the disappointment in his face. She had tried to make things better by saying that it could be a new beginning for both of them and with time perhaps they could be close again, but she knew that wasn't enough to make him feel better.

She had felt awful about that conversation but she knew she couldn't pretend to have feelings for a man that she couldn't remember loving. It wouldn't have been fair to either one of them. She needed time. Time to establish a life of her own. Time to sort out her feelings. Time to get to know him again.

It had been fourteen months since she had that difficult conversation with Steve. She had seen him off and on since then but, with their busy schedules, it wasn't near enough time to really form a romantic relationship, although they had become good friends. They had been through a lot during that time. There were a couple of times she had almost lost him for good – such as the time the missile was headed straight to the M.E.W.S. facility where Steve was located and she had barely stopped it in time, or the time Steve almost died from radiation poisoning but Gillian was able to save him with the Neotraxin.

She remembered finding out from Oscar during the Miss United States Beauty Pageant that Steve always asked about her…how she was feeling and if she was seeing anyone. That had surprised her, but considering her former relationship with Michael, she realized that he was asking a very valid question. It had made her wonder if Steve was seeing anyone; and Oscar's reply about nothing serious because of how Steve felt about her made her feel good. But she also had admitted to Oscar how confused she was about her feelings for Steve.

Most of the time, Steve was charming and attentive to her; and she could see the longing in his eyes. But there had been a few times when Steve seemed withdrawn and that had really perplexed her. She had begun to wonder if Steve had given up on her and was moving on. If he was, she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Jaime looked at that handsome face sleeping tranquilly. She could see how she could have been attracted to him. Steve was undeniably good looking. She thought about those piercing blue eyes hidden under those soft lashes and wished she could see them right now. She thought about Steve's smile. Steve had a smile that would transform his face into a little boy's face when he smiled broadly. It was the most amazing transformation she had ever seen and it always took her by surprise when she saw it. Steve himself must have been aware of it too because his smiles were usually tight lipped or half smiles. Maybe he thought that it wouldn't help his image as an Air Force Colonel to show that full smile. But every once in a while that boyish grin would come out and it was totally disarming.

Steve was also a hunk. Jaime reached up and held Steve's hand; she noted how large and powerful his hands were, just like the rest of him. Steve was a big guy at six feet tall and 175 pounds. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest liberally covered in dark hair. Looking at him it would not surprise anyone that he played football in college. He had the body of a quarterback. But even though he rarely played football anymore, he kept himself in excellent shape. And as Jaime unexpectedly found out yesterday, he had a cute butt.

But what Jaime kept coming back to was that she had loved this man once. She had loved him enough to want to marry him. It frustrated her that she couldn't remember what it felt like to be in love with Steve Austin.

Jaime looked at the clock and saw that it was time to leave for her next testing session with Rudy. She got up from the chair and looked down at the sleeping man. She couldn't resist the temptation of running her fingers through his soft chest hair. She then gave him a gentle kiss and left.


	8. The Second Evaluation

Two days had passed and it was time to wake Steve up again. Jaime wasn't taken by surprise this time when Rudy and Vicky rolled Steve to his side; but she felt a bit guilty as she tilted her head to get a better look as Rudy administered the shot.

Twenty minutes later Steve started to stir. He opened his eyes and, after a few seconds of blurriness, looked at Rudy with clear eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Rudy asked as he checked Steve's eyes.

"Better," Steve replied groggily.

"Any blurry vision?"

"No. None." Steve searched the room and saw Jaime standing near the wall – she had kept her promise. He smiled that boyish grin at her. She melted a little inside and smiled back at him.

Rudy checked Steve's vitals and then did the finger test again. Steve passed it easily.

"Good. Good. You can handle slow head movement." Rudy was pleased. "Now I want you to try sitting up, Steve. Do you think you can do that?"

"Sure." Steve raised himself to a sitting position, grunting slightly with the effort. The sheet fell down below his waist. For a moment he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, fighting the sudden dizziness.

That didn't escape Rudy's notice. "Well, I can see definite improvement but the swelling hasn't completely subsided yet.

"You're not going to put me under again, are you, Doc?" Steve pleaded as he lowered himself back down and let his head sink into the pillow. He shut his eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of his nose as another wave of vertigo hit him.

"No, the swelling has gone down enough that you can stay awake, but you have to stay in bed. I mean it. No walking around or even going to the bathroom without assistance. You hear me?" Rudy replied sternly. "I know you. Don't try to push it."

"I gotcha."

Rudy removed the nasal cannula from Steve's nose and the electrodes from his forehead and then turned to Vicky. "Get him a hospital gown and let's keep the IV going. But go ahead and remove the urinary catheter."

"Yes, doctor," Vicky replied as she left the room.

"Let's take a look at that incision." Rudy gently pulled at the bandage on Steve's neck. "Any pain at the incision site?"

"It's a little sore."

"It's healing nicely," Rudy observed as he took the bandage off. He got a fresh bandage and tape from the drawer and replaced the old bandage with a new one. "There we go."

"Vicky will be back soon to remove the catheter and I'll check on you later." Rudy patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Rudy," Steve replied.

Rudy left the room and finally Jaime and Steve were alone.

Jaime stepped forward. "Well, I'm glad that I'll now be able to talk to you when I come and visit you. You know, you're quite boring when you're asleep."

"You've been here while I was asleep?" He self-consciously pulled up the sheet that had fallen down to his stomach.

"Yes, I've been worried about you."

"Well, it's kinda nice to be worried about," Steve smiled. "How long will you be here for?"

"Originally, four more days, but Rudy says he's keeping me here longer. He wants to upgrade my servomotors."

"Yeah, I had that done a few months ago. It's not that bad. It takes a couple of days but they'll knock you out so you'll just sleep through it. Then there are a few more days of testing and adjustments."

"Hmm…doesn't sound too terrible," Jaime replied. "So how long will you be here for?"

"At least five more days or whenever Rudy is convinced that I won't get dizzy pulling negative g's."

Vicky walked in through the door carrying a hospital gown. She handed it to Steve. "For you, Colonel Austin."

Vicky started putting on medical exam gloves. "I'll be removing your urinary catheter now."

"I think that's my cue to leave," Jaime said. "Bye." She gave Steve a quick kiss and headed out the door.

Steve looked longingly after her. "Bye."

Vicky pulled back the sheet, completely exposing Steve's body. "Now just relax, Colonel. This won't take long."

Steve stared uncomfortably at the ceiling as the nurse carefully removed the apparatus. "Easy now. Almost done," she assured him when he flinched at the pain. When she was finished, she removed her gloves. "A tiny bit of blood," she noted. "We'll have to keep an eye on that. I want you to let me know if you have any problems urinating or if there is blood in your urine," she said as she pulled the sheet back over him.

Steve nodded, relieved that was over. "Okay."

"Now, Doctor Wells' orders are that you are to have assistance getting to the bathroom." Vicky placed the call button near him. "If you need to go, press this call button and we'll have an orderly come and help you."

"Thanks," Steve replied as he put on the hospital gown.


	9. Breakfast in Bed

The next morning Jaime was pushing a cart carrying two covered trays up to the nurses' station. Vicky was working behind the counter.

"Is he awake?" Jaime nodded toward Steve's room.

"The orderly is in there with him right now, Ms. Sommers," Vicky replied. "Give him a few minutes. He should be done soon."

Jaime lifted the cover from one of the trays to show to Vicky. "How's this? Is it too much? Or not enough?"

"That looks like the right amount." Vicky nodded in approval.

A minute later the orderly left the room. Jaime then wheeled the cart into Steve's room.

Steve was resting comfortably in bed.

"Good morning, Sir," Jaime greeted him cheerfully. "I bring you delicacies from the cafeteria to excite your taste buds and satisfy your appetite!"

Steve chuckled. "You're bringing me breakfast?"

Jaime nodded as she placed one of the trays on the overbed table and rolled it in front of him. "I worked it out with Vicky. Rudy has me scheduled for tests all day so I figured the only time I could see you was at mealtimes. And since I have to bring my food up here anyway, I might as well bring yours."

"Well, I used to dream about you bringing me breakfast in bed, but this isn't quite the way I pictured it," he replied as he took the lid off of the tray.

That caught Jaime by surprise. She had never really given much thought to what activities they had done when they were dating and engaged. "I never…?"

"No, never." He nodded. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, he quickly changed the subject. "This looks delicious!" he exclaimed as he checked out the scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

"Oh, I slaved for hours over a hot stove to bring you this feast," she joked as she sat on the chair next to his bed and pulled up the cart to use as a table for herself.

Steve laughed and then stared at her for a moment as she dug into her food. She took his breath away with her beauty and humor. It was the same Jaime but without the feelings she used to have for him. God, he missed her.

Jaime noticed the somber look on his face. "Steve, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," he lied as he forced a smile. He eyed the glass of orange juice on his table and picked it up. "You remembered."

"Yes," she replied. "For some reason my Swiss cheese memory remembers a lot of orange juice and I even recall an incident when I broke a glass of orange juice with my hand."

"But there's no pain, right?" He couldn't hide his concern.

"No, no pain. But, it's funny – I can't recall when that incident occurred."

"We were at my folks' place…toasting."

"With orange juice? What were we toasting?"

"Well, we were toasting you."

"Me? What for?"

Steve hesitated but she was looking at him with a curious gaze. "To the future Mrs. Steve Austin…our engagement." He bowed his head.

"Oh," was all she could manage to say.

There was an awkward silence between them. Steve quickly filled his mouth with food and so did Jaime. They ate in silence for a couple of minutes.

It was Jaime who finally broke the silence. "Steve, I don't want you to talk about something that is painful for you, but our dating and engagement is something I'd really like to know more about. It was an important time in both our lives and I really don't know much about it. I just have fragments of memory from then."

Steve looked at her and thought for a moment. Could he put aside the pain and talk to her about that time? Would it help stir her memories of their love? He decided he would chance it. "No, I'm fine. What do you want to know?"

"How did our relationship start?"

"Well, my folks were over at the ranch helping me fix it up and mom showed me your picture in the paper. Apparently, when either one of us shows up in town, it's big news."

Jaime smiled. "Ah, life in a small town. So was your picture in the paper too?"

"No, I had managed to stay under the radar up to that point. It took the paper another week before they found out that I had bought the ranch."

"So what happened next?"

"I went looking for you. But I didn't have to look long. You were at the first place I looked – the tennis courts."

"Why did you come looking for me?"

"Well, I saw this picture of a beautiful woman who I had grown up with and hadn't seen in four years. And I couldn't let the opportunity to see you again pass me by."

Jaime blushed and smiled. "So did we start dating right away?"

"Not right away. I tried to talk you into pizza at the Capri but you already had a date for that evening and you wouldn't break it."

"I wouldn't?"

"No, and I was really jealous," he admitted. "After dark I had walked into town with dad and saw you having dinner on the patio with 'what's his name.'"

"You were spying on me?"

"Well, not intentionally but, you know, I can see very well in the dark."

Jaime smiled. "I bet you were wishing you had a bionic ear too that night."

"That would have been kinda handy." Steve smiled sheepishly. "But the next day mom maneuvered things so that we met at the lake."

"Good ole Helen."

"Yeah, she always liked you and was doing her darn best to play matchmaker." Steve chuckled. "At the lake you told me that you had broken it off with 'what's his name' and I was very relieved. So I suggested we get serious. We kissed and started dating after that."


	10. Missing Jaime

Steve lay in bed alone with his thoughts. He kept thinking about the breakfast conversation he had with Jaime earlier. Part of him had really enjoyed talking about all those happy memories. The other part of him grieved for the loss of what they once had. He had pushed that part down deep when he was talking to her; but now, alone in his room, the grief came flooding back to him.

A tear ran down his cheek.

That beautiful woman sitting next to him this morning was Jaime but it wasn't his Jaime, the Jaime that had loved him and promised to marry him, the Jaime that wanted to build a future with him. That Jaime was gone. He knew he had to accept that and move on. But it was so difficult. He ached to have his Jaime back.

Steve had survived the last year and a half by burying himself in his work and putting his Jaime in a safe walled off place in his mind. He tried to remain hopeful. Hopeful that she would come back to him some day. Hopeful that she would love him again. Hopeful that they would have a life together. And when he was hopeful, he was able to show her the best of himself and be his usual charming self.

Steve may have been part machine, but he was still very much human. And like any human, he had his less flattering moments. In his case they were rare, but he had them. He had moments when he would fall into despair or grief. When that happened, he was standoffish, not allowing Jaime to get too close. He knew it was his way of trying to protect his emotions. But he also knew that behavior was hurting his chances of getting even closer to her. So when that happened, he would have to force himself out of his funk. Often that meant going off alone fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, or taking a long walk until he was able to find and be his best self again.

This morning, Steve could feel himself giving in to the grief and despair. He knew he had to fight it. He couldn't let himself fall into despair now, not while Jaime was here with him at the lab.

God, he needed to go for a walk. But he couldn't get out of this damn bed.

So he closed his eyes and imagined himself walking around the lake back home in Ojai. In his mind he smelled the fresh air, saw the gentle waves of the lake, and heard the rustle of the grass as he walked through it. In that setting in his mind he went through a gratitude exercise that helped him whenever he started feeling sorry for himself.

He knew he was grateful for the love they had shared. He definitely wasn't sorry that their relationship had happened. He would happily take having Jaime in his life over never having her in his life at all, even if it was only platonic friendship. He was also happy that she was happy, healthy, and alive.

As long as there was life, there was hope. He had to cling to that.

A knock on the door roused Steve out of his thoughts. He quickly wiped the tear from his cheek.

"Steve?" Oscar walked in. "I heard you were awake. How are you doing, Pal?"

"Hey, Oscar. Oh, I'm feeling better."

"Glad to hear it because from the looks of that you weren't feeling so hot five days ago." Oscar nodded toward the bent bed rail. "You know that's considered destruction of hospital property, Pal," Oscar joked.

Steve was astonished. He hadn't noticed the damage he had caused. "Well, I guess I better fix it. I wouldn't it to come out of my paycheck, you know." He placed his right hand on the railing and pulled it back into place.

Oscar marveled as he watched Steve use his bionic arm. As often as he had seen bionics in action, it still amazed him. "Well, your arm still works. Now we need to get the rest of you working because, while you're lying around here being served hand and foot, the work is piling up. I need you supervising the Starburst Project, Pal, and getting it moving again."

"Ugh, Oscar, don't even talk to me about work right now."

Oscar laughed then got serious. "I hear Jamie is here. How are you handling that, Pal?"

Steve considered lying but he knew Oscar wasn't one to be easily fooled. He swore that man had a built-in lie detector. The truth was the only way to go with Oscar. "It's great seeing her again, but it's also hard."

"I understand," Oscar sympathized as he patted Steve on the shoulder. "I wish we could have done more. I wish we could have gotten all her memories back instead of just some of them."

"Yeah, I know. I'm grateful for everything you've done for her."

* * *

It was lunchtime and Steve was looking forward to having Jaime come by for a visit. So when the door opened and Vicky walked in carrying a tray, he was disappointed and confused.

Vicky placed the tray on the overbed table and pushed it in front of him. "Ms. Sommers asked me to give you her regrets for not making it to lunch. She is dining with Mr. Goldman this afternoon. She said she will see you at dinner."

"Thanks," was all he could say as he lifted the cover of the tray.


	11. The Wall Obstacle Course

That afternoon, Oscar stood next to Rudy. The two men watched Jaime as she jogged to the other side of a large field to take on the wall obstacle course. The course was a quarter mile long and consisted of fifty concrete walls spaced evenly apart. The first wall was only one foot tall and each subsequent wall increased in height by one foot, with the last wall reaching fifty feet high. The idea was to run the course and jump over the walls without stopping. It was a test that neither she nor Steve had ever been able to do perfectly.

"Busy week for you, eh, Rudy?" Oscar commented.

"You're telling me," Rudy agreed. "I think I'm busy when one of them is here, but with both of them here, I'm having to split my time between them and I'm not doing either one of them justice. I think I may have to extend their stays a bit in order to get all the maintenance and testing done that Jaime needs and make sure that Steve is fully recovered and gets a complete physical before I release him."

"That's good," Oscar replied.

Rudy gave Oscar a sideward glance.

"I'm mean for them, not you," Oscar clarified. "You know, Rudy, I try to find ways to get those two together so that they can spend more time with each other. I feel like I owe that to Steve. He's been through a lot. She may not remember their love but he does and I can tell it's taken a toll on him. But it's been difficult to schedule. He's off on a mission, doing reserve duty, or a NASA project. She's off on a mission or teaching in Ojai. I look for assignments where I can justify using two bionic people, but those are rare…"

"Yeah," Rudy nodded, "before losing Jaime, Steve had been doing great on his quarterly psych evaluations. I was so pleased at the progress he had made adjusting to his bionics. But since losing her…" Rudy shook his head. "Let me tell you, those evaluations have been rough. He fights me about even talking about her. He even got up and walked out of one evaluation. I've seen tears in his eyes several times. He's definitely grieving."

Oscar sighed.

"You know, come to think of it, I think it's about time to replace the diode relays in Steve and Jaime's muscular flexors," Rudy said nonchalantly.

The two men exchanged a knowing look and smiled.

Their attention turned back to Jaime who had reached the beginning of the course. They watched her intently as she started running. She took the short walls easily, moving like a gazelle as she jumped over wall after wall. When she got to the twenty-foot wall it started to get harder. She had to build up as much speed as she could in a short distance in order to get over the wall. By the time she got to the thirty-foot wall she had to stop and jump from a crouched position. The fifty-foot wall was the most frustrating. She barely was able to grab hold of the top of the wall with her bionic arm and pull herself up before jumping down the other side.

Jaime finished the course and ran back to Rudy and Oscar.

Oscar had a big smile on his face. "Great job, Jaime!"

"Yes, very nice." Rudy looked pleased too.

Jaime wasn't buying the praise. "I don't get this one, Rudy. If you expect Steve and me to leap tall walls in a single bound, why didn't you build us with that ability?"

"It's all about testing your limits, Jaime," Rudy replied. "Maybe some day I'll figure out how to increase them."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jaime," Oscar assured her. "You did fine."

Oscar looked at his watch. "Well, it looks like it's time for me to get going. I've got a plane to catch in an hour. It was good seeing you, Babe."

They hugged and then Oscar left.


	12. That Tingling Feeling

That evening Jaime was in Steve's room eating dinner with him. She looked at her bionic hand and then watched Steve use his bionic hand to feed himself. "Our hands are really incredible, aren't they?"

"What?" Steve asked with his mouth full.

"Our hands," Jaime repeated, lifting her bionic hand up and wiggling her fingers. "I mean, they can crush this glass like it was nothing or gently pick it up so that we can drink from it." She picked up her glass of water and took a sip.

Steve smiled. "Yeah, Rudy's a genius."

"But do you ever get used to the tingling?"

"The what?"

"The tingling. That tingling feeling when we touch something."

Steve loathed when people asked him what bionics felt like or how it felt when he touched something. He hated being the subject of medical curiosity. But with Jaime, he could talk freely about it because they shared the bond of being bionic. "I guess I'm so used to it that I don't really notice it anymore. Does it bother you?"

"Sometimes. I mean, it was such a strange sensation to get used to at first and it's definitely not as noticeable as it used to be, but every once in a while I'll find myself just focusing on the sensation for like an entire day. It's very distracting."

"Yeah, I would get that sometimes too, but by the third year it went away. Give it time," he assured her.

Jaime smiled. "I'm so glad I have you to talk bionics with, Steve. Nobody else in the world knows what it feels like to be bionic."

They continued to chat as they ate dinner. After dinner, Jaime brought out a deck of cards, sat on his bed, and they played poker on Steve's overbed table for a couple of hours before calling it a night.


	13. The Accident

Note: The song in this chapter was written by Lee Majors for his ex-wife, Farrah. The words have been changed slightly to fit the story of Steve and Jaime. To hear Lee Majors sing the song on a Latin American TV talk show, watch the YouTube video titled "El hombre nuclear (Lee Majors) y Don Ramón en "Vamos a Ver" con Raúl Matas | TVN de culto." The song is the second song that Mr. Majors sings called "I'm Not Sorry" and it starts at 32:30 in the video.

* * *

The next day, Jaime finished her afternoon testing early and Rudy told her to take the rest of the day off. So she headed off to Steve's room to keep him company.

Jaime checked in with Vicky at the nurses' station. "Does he have an orderly with him?"

"No, you can go on in."

"Thanks," Jaime replied.

Steve's bed was empty. Strange, she thought. She knew that he was not supposed to be out of bed by himself. Then she noticed that the bathroom door was shut. She thought she heard a sound so she turned up her bionic hearing and heard the shower running. She also heard…

…Steve singing in the shower?

Jaime was flabbergasted. She had no idea Steve could sing!

She stifled a giggle.

But then her breath caught as she listened to the words.

Her hands went over her mouth and tears started to well up in her eyes as she listened to…

…Steve sing…

_Love me or love me not. Jaime, please give it a second thought.  
__We were the dream that you forgot.  
__And now that you're gone for good and I cry like I knew I would.  
__I want it understood._

_I'm not sorry. No I'm not. I'm just thankful for the love I got.  
__I'm not sorry, though you're gone. I must try to go on._

_Even though life went wrong, you gave me memories to last so long.  
__I'm really trying to learn to be strong.  
__So I'm hoping the pain will pass, and only the good will last.  
__Our time together passed much too fast._

_I'm not sorry. No I'm not. I'm just thankful for the love I got.  
__I'm not sorry, though you're gone. I must try to go on._

_Now I love you with no regrets. Jaime, it isn't over yet.  
__Love is something I can't forget._

_I'm not sorry. No I'm not. I'm just…_

There was a sudden thud and Steve went silent.

All Jaime could hear was the sound of the water running. She listened intently for a few more seconds…still no sound from Steve.

"Steve? Steve?" She knocked on the bathroom door.

Silence.

"Steve? This is Jaime. Are you okay?"

Silence.

"Steve? C'mon, say something. You're starting to worry me. Steve?"

Silence.

"Okay, ready or not, I'm coming in!" She warned him. She tried to turn the knob but the door was locked so she hit the door hard with her right hand, making a big hole in the middle of it. Then she reached in and unlocked the door.

Through tear-filled eyes she saw Steve lying unconscious on the shower floor. A trickle of blood was mixed with the water flowing down the drain.

Jaime gasped. She ran out of the bathroom to the bed, pressed the call button, then ran back to the bathroom and shut off the water.

"Steve? Steve?" Jamie got on her knees and tried to rouse him but he didn't respond. She looked around unsure what to do next. Thankfully, Vicky arrived just then.

"Is everything okay?"

"Steve's unconscious!"

"Let's take a look." With skillful efficiency, Vicky got on the floor and took Steve's pulse. She checked his pupils, felt his neck and spine for injury, and then took a look at the gash on the back of his head. "I think it may be a concussion but Dr. Wells better look at this."

"I'll go get Rudy," Jaime volunteered.

"No," Vicky ordered as she got up and grabbed a stack of clean towels off the shelf. "I can't lift him but you can. I'll get Dr. Wells and you get him in bed." She handed Jaime the stack of towels. "Try to dry him off as much as possible and keep a towel against that head wound."

Vicky left and Jaime was alone staring at an unconscious, bleeding, wet, naked Steve.

"Oh, this isn't awkward at all," Jaime said sarcastically. "Steve, if you weren't hurt, I would kill you right now."

Jaime looked at the towels in her arms. "Okay, I can do this."

Taking the towels to the bed, she unfolded several towels, and covered the bed with them. Then she ran back to bathroom. Even though Steve outweighed her by fifty pounds, she had no problem picking him up. She tried to ignore the fact that he was wet and naked. Steve's head fell back as she carried him over to the bed and gently laid him on the towels. The towel on the pillow started to turn red from his head wound so she placed another towel under his head.

She gently wiped his face and neck, dried his arms, and started working her way down his body. When she got to his groin, she stopped and stared for a moment as she tried to decide what to do.

"Nope, not touching that."

She grabbed a fresh folded towel from the stack and threw it over his privates and then dried his legs.

By the time Rudy arrived with Vicky in tow, Jaime was holding a towel against Steve's head, trying to get the bleeding to stop.

"Rudy, he's still bleeding. It won't stop!"

"Let's take a look." Rudy lifted Steve's head and examined the gash on the back of his head. "That's going to need stitches and cauterization to stop the bleeding. Jaime, keep applying pressure to that wound."

Rudy looked at Steve's pupils. "Yeah, it's a concussion all right. Damn fool. I told him not to…"

While Rudy finished his examination of Steve, Vicky worked in the background pulling together the supplies and equipment that she knew Rudy would need.

"Let's get him on his side so I have better access."

As they rolled Steve away from them the towel covering his groin fell off.

Vicky handed Rudy the tools he needed as he cauterized the blood vessel. Then he stitched the wound closed.

"Vicky, let's get his hair dried before dressing his wound; and get him off of these wet towels and on to dry sheets." Noticing Steve's state of undress, Rudy sighed, "and I'm sure he'd appreciate a hospital gown. Call me when he wakes up." Rudy then left the room.

Vicky promptly put a hospital gown on Steve. "Ms. Sommers, can you assist me by lifting him?"

"Umm, certainly." Jaime carefully lifted Steve out of the bed and held him in her arms. She watched while Vicky stripped the bed and put clean sheets on it. She then placed a clean towel over the fresh pillowcase. "Okay, you can put him back on the bed."

While her bionic arm carried the bulk of Steve's weight, Jaime's real arm still had to carry his legs and it was starting to get tired. She was glad to finally place Steve back on the bed. "Can I help with anything else?"

Seeing the concern written all over Jaime's face, Vicky smiled a rare smile. "You can dry his hair."

"Okay," Jaime responded as she went into the bathroom to get the hair dryer.

While Jaime dried Steve's hair, Vicky took the wet bedding to the laundry and came back with dressing supplies.

"Okay, his hair is dry." Jaime removed the damp towel covering the pillow.

"Good, now if you can lift his head, I'll bandage him up."

Jaime gently lifted Steve's head. When Vicky was finished, Steve had gauze wrapped around his head, covering his forehead and holding a large gauze bandage covering the wound on the back of his head.


	14. The Heart Remembers

"What the hell were you thinking?" Rudy glared at Steve. He was furious.

"I was feeling okay. I thought I'd take a shower," Steve replied, but he was confused. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"The last thing I remember I was taking a shower."

Rudy huffed. "Yeah, well your vertigo must have caused you to fall. You hit the back of your head on the shower stool and gave yourself a nasty gash as well as a concussion."

"So that's why my head hurts so much." Steve gingerly touched the back of his head.

"Yeah," Rudy replied. "You know it's a good thing Jaime found you as quickly as she did. You could have lost a lot more blood."

Down the hall, stretched out on her bed, Jaime was listening to the whole conversation. "Oh, no, Rudy," she said to herself. "You did _not_ just tell him that." She buried her face in her hands.

"Wait. _Jaime_ found me?" Steve turned bright red.

"That's what I said," Rudy sternly replied. "Maybe that will teach you not to disregard my orders. Now, young man, you are confined to bed for three more days. You are not to get out of that bed without an orderly's assistance, do you understand me?"

"Yeah, I got ya," Steve replied sheepishly.

"Good. Now get some rest." Rudy walked out of the room.

Steve was now alone with his thoughts, but not for long. A couple of minutes later, the door opened slightly and Jaime peeked her head in.

Steve looked up, saw her, and gulped.

"Hi, how are feeling?" she said gently as she walked in. She knew there would be awkwardness between them because of what Rudy had told him. And she figured that facing him and getting it out of the way as soon as possible would be the best course of action. She didn't want the dread of confronting him to drag on and on.

"Okay." He averted his eyes. He was too embarrassed to look at her.

"Liar," she responded.

Steve snorted. "I guess you heard everything."

"Umm, yeah," she replied, tapping her bionic ear.

"You know, I'd thank you if I wasn't so embarrassed."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Jaime replied.

Steve raised his eyebrow.

"Umm, that didn't come out quite how I meant it to come out."

Both of them chuckled in embarrassment.

"I guess what I mean is that we're even now."

"We're what?"

"Even. I mean since my memory loss, you've always had the advantage over me of remembering everything we did during our engagement. I mean _everything_. So now I figure we're even."

"Wait. You mean…" Steve's jaw dropped open.

"Yeah."

"Umm, Jaime, we never went that far."

"We didn't?"

"No, Jaime, you and I are small town kids, raised with small town values. We had talked about it and agreed to wait until our wedding night."

"We did?" Jaime couldn't hide her surprise.

"Yeah."

"Oh," was all that Jaime could manage to say. Hearing that come out of the mouth of the man who had a reputation as an astronaut playboy and had made _People_ magazine's list of "Top 50 Eligible Bachelors" surprised her.

"So, I guess I'm the one at a disadvantage here," he quipped.

Jaime thought about it a moment and she knew what she had to do. "Would you like a chance to possibly even up the score?" She said with a shy flirty smile.

Steve's eyebrow went up and he looked at her in surprise.

Then Jaime got serious. "Steve, I heard you singing."

Steve turned pale.

"I heard the words you sang." Jaime took hold of his left hand with both of hers. "I need to know. Is that how you feel about me? Are you in love with me?"

There was silence for a few seconds as Steve struggled to get over his shock and then, "Jaime, I never stopped loving you."

Jaime smiled. "You know, it's been a little over a year since I found out about us, about what we were to each other, but I couldn't remember my feelings for you and I knew I needed time to establish my life and find out who I was before even thinking of committing to anyone else. I kept thinking that maybe the memories would come back in time and I would remember what it was like to be in love with you. But they never have."

Steve bowed his head, trying not to show his disappointment. "I understand."

Jaime continued. "These last few days have been confusing for me. I've been trying to figure out why I had fallen in love with you and I figured that the more time I spent with you, that maybe I could get an answer. And then I realized I was _drawn_ to you and I didn't know why until I heard you sing."

Steve looked up at Jaime.

"I realized that my mind doesn't remember our love, but my heart does. It's always been there. I just didn't realize it until now." Jaime looked intently into Steve's eyes. "My heart still loves you, Steve Austin."

Steve's eyes began to water and he smiled. "You love me?"

"Yes."

Jaime bent down and they kissed...a kiss filled with longing, passion, and love.

THE END


End file.
